we will have the latest for you. we'll give you the lay of the land. to john harwood in the map room live tonight with more information. john? >> no surprises among the two that have been called so far if you put indiana and kentucky together, that's 19 electoral votes for mitt romney to start out with. we knew he was going to get those votes, we expected two states that are too early to call both georgia and south carolina, are both going to go for romney eventually anyway, we don't know that, we don't have any raw vote, but in preelection polling it was clear those were part of romney's base. georgia was a state that president obama was hoping to target. didn't look like that was going to come true. vermont, three electoral votes for the president, now on the board too, but that was expected. the one we're watching, guys, is the state of virginia. 13 electoral votes. both candidates have been targeting the state. 40% of the vote comes from the

counties of northern virginia near washington, d.c. the other parts of the state are more conservative, more rural, more southern, and that's where it gives mitt romney hope of offsetting the margins that president obama could run up in northern virginia. we're just beginning to know what's happening tonight, but virginia is really the one in this bunch that we're going to want to see the clues later on when that gets called. >> yes. that was a state that obama carried the first democrat to carry the state of virginia since lyndon johnson in 1964. there is some question, of course, as you point out whether he will do it again this time. diana ollic is live in one of the northern virginia suburbs. hi, diana. >> hey, tyler. you're right, we heard them shout out the polls are closed in virginia. that just as they were bringing in the last vat of hot chocolate. the temperatures here dropping into the 30s. but the reason this is too close to call right now is because there are long lines at other polling places, specifically in prince william county which is

part of northern virginia. we're hearing reports from the radio there are many, many people still in line, waiting to vote and told if they were in line by 7:00, they will get the right to vote even if it goes a couple more hours. a lot of complaints in that area there are two few voting booths. the board of elections held a press conference and said there have been sxlantss about a lot -- complaints about a lot of long lines this morning but has not ban problem statewide and not going to affect the turnout in the election here. as you said, this state is split down the middle, north versus south, and north becoming increasingly urban, increasingly liberal, a housing boom here brought a lot of folks from the d.c. area into northern virginia and that's what helped get president obama elected in 2008 as you said after 40 years of this state going for republicans. that's what put this state really into play in this election cycle. we didn't used to pay much attention to virginia before but it is close. that's why both candidates have spent so much time in this state

this year, the two candidates as well as their running mates doing over 90 appearances in the state just since august 31st. president obama did nine rallies. governor romney held ten rallies, spent $131 million just in television ad campaigns. so again, this state running very close right now. this is going to take a couple more hours. back to you. >> as you point out, diana, the new virginia is different from the old virginia. nbc news, let's recap right now, has projected that mitt romney is the winner in the state of indiana. and there you see 11 electoral votes in the romney column. nbc news also projecting mitt romney the winner in the state of kentucky with 8 electoral votes based on 5% of the polling data in. president obama is the projected winner in vermont as expected. that is 3 electoral votes. >> we still have too early to call in georgia according to nbc news, that is the same case in

south carolina, too early to call, and in virginia, it is too close to call according to nbc news. so again, we are waiting on virginia and you mentioned a great point because virginia has been obama territory for so long. >> it was in the last election and as i said, larry, the new virginia is different from the old virginia. much more of the vote concentrated in those suburben and increasingly urban feeling counties in northern virginia. >> we have our all stars right here, larry kudlow, steve liesman and rick santelli. brian sullivan with us from democracy plaza in new york city. >> on the virginia thing, absolutely, the northern suburbs a new ball game. you grew up in virginia. >> i did. >> i lived there when i worked in the administration. two other key points, the tidewater region where the military spending and the across the board budget sequester is a huge issue and in the southwest part of virginia, the coal industry is another huge issue.

>> interesting to see we are seeing the projected winners in indiana and kentucky being amid romney here. does this tell you anything about what's to come? >> i think it does. i think there's momentum here that's difficult to poll and some of these states will give us early indications. >> steve liesman, now as we go along, continuing to see these poll closings, in fact we've got a total of six poll closings at 7:00, but at 7:30 we will find out ohio, which, of course, has been so contested. >> my best guess is we're not going to find out ohio. >> at 7:30. when the polls close. >> and it's a good thing to see the lines are out there. the enthusiasm is out there. and, you know, i think the economy is clearly going to have been the biggest issue that's out there. and the question i have is which candidate closed the deal with the american public on the economy. and if you judge by the polls that took place, the public opinion polls, not the actual polls, it seems like neither

side really closed the deal. and that raises interesting questions to me about governance in the wake of this election. >> by the way, just as an aside, barack obama carried indiana in 2008, so -- >> that's important. >> that is a shift. >> it is a shift. >> an expected shift but i'm just saying he did carry it. unfortunately, i don't agree with my colleague steve liesman. >> it's so early and you don't agree with me? >> polling data shows across -- i looked at the ed goez polling data, a bipartisan poll, and governor romney carried all the pocketbook issues by substantial amounts, 12 to 15 percentage points. that's what rasmussen has been saying, what gallup has been saying. that's not the whole poll. on those pocketbook related issues. >> no doubt. i will concede the polls showed a couple things contradictory, public opinion polls. romney led on the issue of the economy but they also showed that on the issue of -- who was

leading there, that it was pretty much tied, 48/48. >> i'm spendi in-- on spending, deficits romney had all the advantages. they are dear to my heart. interestingly even though i'm a tax cutting reagan supply cut sider the tax cuts didn't poll well. in the battleground poll i was told today for the first time romney took a small two-point lead in the battleground poll on the question of tax cuts. tax cuts doesn't play as much as spending cuts. i thought you might be interested in that. >> i think you're right. if these dynamics start showing up in the exit polls that the fiscal side of the equation is running high on the list, i think that gives us a good indication. >> no doubt about it. want to bring in brian sullivan at democracy plaza in new york city. we have indiana, a win for mitt romney, kentucky a win for mitt romney. projected from nbc news, and

vermont a win for president obama. over to you. >> i know you've been talking about the polls. the only thing i know right now which is 100% of america is sick of polls. right? that's my guess. and we look at the stock market. i would love somebody to address that because the stock market is almost never down heading into a presidential election. however, it's been down five times heading into an election in the last 100 years. of those five times, four times the incumbent was tossed out. the stock market up 60% since obama took office, the dow, and we know what kind of run we've had in the last 12 months or so. should that be a poll we're looking at. will the stock market help the president? i don't know. maybe somebody there knows. >> brian, i'll tell you one thing, in all the other cases that you're citing from a historic perspective, i would suggest probably offer that the federal reserve was not proactive in what's going on with regard to programs like quantitative easing. i think the stock market has to

be in a special case with interpretation for its movement during this election. >> do you think people will go into the polling booth and say the stock market is up, my 401(k) is up and it's because of ben bernanke and i'm not going to give the president credit for that. >> we have former republican of mississippi haley barbour joining the conversation. welcome. glad to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> how are you feeling about the evening so far? >> well, it's very, very close. i am glad that larry noted indiana did vote for president obama last time and that's one thing romney has to do, win about six states that obama carried last time in order to be able to win and indiana was the easiest and first. i think romney's chances are exbe dreamily good. everybody here knows it's an incredibly close election and incredibly close elections a lot of things matter, particularly

turnout. and we have a very hard time judging turnout this time because a third of people voted early. you mentioned, larry, the battleground survey, 34% of people surveyed reported they had already voted before last night, so that means you only got two-thirds of the people that are going to go to the polls to be asked questions about exit polling which makes me very, very scared about any kind of results you get from an exit poll. >> one other point, hall yey, a polling point, i don't think these state polls are worth the paper they're printed on. the voter i.d. dynamics, whether it's 2008, where democrats were up 7 or 8 or 9 percentage points or it should be 2004 when it was more see even stevens i don't think the pollsters at the local state level have been able to figure this out and i have to tell everybody i have from day one disregarded most of the state polls. national polling might be a

little better. state polling it's amateur hour. >> governor, let me get your take on virginia. what is your analysis here? nbc news projecting virginia is too close to call. >> not surprising to me, maria, because as somebody on the show noted, northern virginia is now between 35 and 40% of all the vote and by northern virginia the suburbs of washington, d.c. you may be shocked to hear this, but there's not a big constituency in washington, d.c., for smaller government. >> great point. >> so you got the other two-thirds of the 60% of the race, romney is going to do very well down there. but i believe the key to the state is whether romney cuts obama's margin below a certain level in the northern virginia suburbs and i think he has a good chance to do that. >> is there a state, governor, you will be watching most closely on behalf of the romney campaign that you feel he must

win? >> well, there's not a state that he must win, but if he does the things that make sense, wins indiana, north carolina, florida and virginia, then the next state has to be ohio or he has to replace ohio. he can do that with pennsylvania, he can do it with wisconsin, plus colorado, he can do it with wisconsin plus new hampshire. so ohio has been -- has been called the big deal for months and months because it is the big deal. >> do i sense that you feel pretty confident about florida? >> i do. i do feel good about florida. >> what makes you feel good about florida? >> i think romney is going to do well on the i-4 corridor but will keep it close enough in the eastern time zone that when the votes come in from the central time zone, northwest florida, for hundreds of thousands of

people vote, they will roll up a big margin for romney and it will overcome whatever small margin, if any, obama gets out of the eastern half the state. >> sounded a little to me, i'm playing psychologist here, probably bad thing to do, that your knees are knocking a little bit over virginia. and i would dare say, if governor romney doesn't carry virginia, he isn't going to carry. >> very hard for him to win without virginia. it's not impossible but it's very hard. i think virginia is going to be very, very close. i think it's going to be razor thin. i would rather have romney's hand in virginia than obama's because -- >> governor barbour, it's brian sullivan in rockefeller center, sorry to jump in, sir. >> that's all right. >> i'm also from virginia and understand the bye furcation of the state, the north versus the south. you know florida is the same way. what's the saying in florida, the further you go north, the more you go south?

how is florida divided? >> well the florida is even more diverse and virginia is more diverse than we're talking like it is. but the big chunk of votes in northern virginia that are assumed to be for obama, my view is obama's margin there is not going to be as great as some people anticipate. there's more energy, more crowds, i believe that romney will carry louden county, for instance, and i think he will cut obama's margins significantly in arlington, alexandria and all of the towns around that. florida, you know, you've got south florida which is not southern at all, but you got the whole west coast that cuts -- that diminishes the margin that comes out of dade, palm beach and broward. then you get into the i-4 corridor where most elections are decided and i think you'll

come out of all of that with romney slightly behind and then he will win the state in the north and particularly the northwest. >> governor haley barbour, thank you for being with us this evening and continued good luck to you. >> thank you. >> thanks, governor. >> next tonight, the likely scenarios on the balance of power in the house and the senate. >> three more states close at 7:30. will there be big changes and what will it mean for your money? we're back in two minutes time.

if we want to improve our schools... ... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. [ male announcer ] can a car be built around a state of mind? ♪ announcing the all-new 2013 malibu from chevrolet. ♪ with a remarkable new interior featuring the available chevrolet mylink infotainment system. this is where sophisticated styling begins.

and where it ends? that's up to you. it's here -- the greatest malibu ever. ♪ impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.

welcome back. we want to show you the very latest. what you're looking at here is virginia. the polls have closed but nbc news is saying it is too close to call. also, florida, some polls have closed. all of the polls will close at the top of the hour.

but what we see here as you can see, some polls have closed and so far we are really in a neck and neck situation in florida. all of those polls will close at the top of the hour. every house seat as well up for grabs and more than 30 senate races as well. >> and whoever wins the white house will have to work with this group to solve some big fiscal issues in this country. amman jabbers is watching the balance of power tonight. >> hi. well election night has begun in the united states senate. our first actual call that we can make. nbc news is now projecting that bernie sanders will be the winner in the vermont senate race, not a surprise, but it is our first call of the evening. also, a couple other states to update you on in the senate, in the indiana senate race nbc news is saying that one is too close to call. remember, that's where six-term republican senator richard lugar was beaten by richard mour mourdock. in virginia, too close to call

in the senate race there. this is a titanic battle between two former virginia governors. nbc news saying virginia is too close to call. now let me bring you up to speed as we start the evening now in the united states senate here is the balance of power in the united states senate among democrats. 51 democrats, two independents who typically vote with those democrats, and we've got 47 republicans in the senate. that means that republicans tonight, if they want to take over the chamber, are going to need a net pick up of four seats in the senate. three, however, if mitt romney wins the presidency and that is because the vice president in that case, paul ryan, would cast the deciding vote in the united states senate. so a lot to ask for republicans. that is a steep climb, a net gain of four but that's what we're going to be watching for throughout the evening. >> amman jabbers, want to bring in jim cramer to tonight's conversation. a rally on this election day ahead of these results. we've got a couple polls closed

with indiana the projected winner mitt romney. kentucky projected winner mitt romney. vermont projected winner barack obama. >> but i think that we've had a lot of the rally that i was hoping for stolen. there was always a sense i think in the market that when we got through with this, we would have a relief rally. we kind of had a relief rally today. look we're almost through with this. i think that's glib because there are stocks, maria, that will get hit if the so-called wrong guy wins if you own them. >> you went through some of them. some are the usual suspects. >> right. >> if there is a romney victory, you would say that the traditional energy stocks, i presume some of the defense stocks. >> coal. >> coal does very well. >> would do very well. and you mentioned ka belas. >> it's funny, there's -- there's a theme that says romney is not anti-gun, okay, pro nra. people were saying why don't you recommend smith & wesson, sturm

ruger. those are fine companies and done quite well. cabella's had a short fall, it wasn't from guns but cold weather. i felt we have a stock down on its block, well run where they said on the conference call if we got cold weather we are going to make our next numbers and then some. hey, it's cold. >> are these kind of stocks you talk about here, i assume some of the hospitals companies might do better should obama be the victor, are these trades or are these long-term investment plays? >> i cannot recommend a hospital chaining on a long-term investment because it's a poorly -- it's a difficult business to maybe make a lot of money in. i like kabela's because it's down so much. the one i would recommend people to think about, take an oil surface company, you know romney said listen, we're going to open up the federal lands, you know, you need a -- core labs to do the test to see if there's oil down there. you have to call in a halliburton. we don't know if that's going to

go to shell. but it is going to need an oil service company to open up the federal lands to find out if there's oil. >> i want to zero in on defense because this can go either way with defense, i think you've got in mitt romney, someone who does not want to cut defense spending. >> right. >> in the president, we know that he will cut defense spending as part of the fiscal cliff, as part of the budget. >> and that's why i was looking at jim cramer on twitter because i love to see what followers, a lot of smart people. someone was saying why don't you push hii because in newport news, they make the arly burk carriers -- destroyers. that's good business. it has no yield. i so fear the fiscal clear and they won't do anything and we know how we feel about the fiscal cliff, lockheed martin which does the ships, fast little ships, because it has that 4.8% yield and i am so so

wary of recommending a stock if obama wins and says let's let this se question trace happen, that huntington engle will go down a lot. >> we are waiting for ohio, and west virginia to close. georgia too early to call, south carolina too early to call, let's talk about tax reform. are you expecting tax reform regardless of who gets the white house? >> that does seem to be the tack. i certainly expected dividends will be taxed at a higher level. fortunately a lot of people at home have dividends in their ira or 401, k. >> unless mitt romney wins. >> i have a feeling that the dividend is -- i just have -- it's a premonition that i think that that's the one they play with. capital gains is something that the republicans have felt was so hard fought and with dividends i used to push this with larry kudlow when he was my partner, we never thought we would get the windfall dividends. p aresens are -- republicans

have not been that crazy about carrying anything other than capital gains. >> taxed as ordinary income for decades. >> that is what is so unusual about the dividend cut. >> exactly. thank you as always. >> polls are closing in the all-important battleground state of ohio in about five minutes. >> this is going to be so exciting. we'll take you there live next. stay with us on this special coverage. ♪

[ female announcer ] today is not just about who lives in the white house, it's about who lives in the yellow house, the brick, the green, and the apartment house, too. today we not only honor the oval office, but we honor the cubicle, the open-air office and the home office as well. ♪ today is not just about who rides in air force one, it's about who rides in the 4 door sedan, the 2 door hatchback and the v8 muscle car. ♪ because today it's about all of us. and no matter who you are, or where you live, you're the commander-in-chief of your own life. and that's something that will never change. ♪ and that's something that will never change. if we want to improve our schools...

... what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ... nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers. your doctor will say get smart about your weight.

i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have six grams of sugars. with fifteen grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. inspiration. great power. iconic design. exhilarating performance. [ race announcer ] audi once again has created le mans history! [ male announcer ] and once in a great while... all of the above. take your seat in the incomparable audi a8. take advantage of exceptional values on the audi a8 during the season of audi event. ♪

welcome back to our special coverage. "your money, your vote" election 2012. i'm back now with carl quintanilla. great to see you. >> glad to be here. people should notice trying to get around in the northeast continues to be a huge issue. i'm a little late because a some lines were down even a week after sandy on one of the turnpikes around here. turnout will be so crucial and even in states that are traditionally reliably blue voting will not be top of mind. >> voter turnout totally critical. let's get to john harwood, he's at the math room right now. -- map room right now. if we were to see lower turnout does that mean a positive for one way or the other? >> generally speaking, maria, people have been expecting a larger turnout would benefit the president. mitt romney and his campaign have been talking about higher

levels of intensity and enthusiasm. that's des putted -- disputed by the obama team but that's their belief, they have a high level motivation to get rid of president obama and if that happens bigger turnouts for the. >> the breaking news right now. nbc news has projected west virginia a win for mitt romney. >> and ohio still too close to call at this point. north carolina also a state that is too close to call right now according to nbc news, north carolina a state that obama narrowly won in 2008, 50 to 49. it's been said it might possibly be romney's easiest flip from blue to red. >> he's actually already gotten his easiest flip in the state of indiana as larry pointed out. that was a state long shot for democrats to carry. obama broke through there in 2008. north carolina, of the other obama states, is going to be the easiest one, the only one that mitt romney has consistently led in the polls of the nine battlegrounds heading into tonight and ohio, of course, is

the one where everybody invested all the marbles. >> that is too close to call. to the battleground states of ohio, north carolina and virginia, nbc news is projecting virginia which closed just 30 minutes ago, is also too close to call. with record turnout expected, turnout expected to surpass 2008 levels, many voters are still in line and, in fact, they will be allowed to vote as long as they were at their polling place when it officially closed, carl. >> that could well mean that we're counting later than we expected. >> south carolina and georgia, projected to be too early to call. nbc news has mitt romney as the projected winner of indiana and kentucky with president obama holding on to vermont. we are less than 30 minutes away from the next battleground states to close. their polls, new hampshire, which had been a challenge for romney until recently when he began narrowing that gap and the nation's largest swing state, of course, florida, where record voter turnout is predicted. we're talking about questions about voter turnout and yet

we're talking also about record turnout in places like florida, carl. >> i just want to make one point about west virginia, the five electoral votes that went to romney. how one state's flip, they really flip. west virginia is traditionally democratic state. george w. bush broke through in 2000 against al gore and carried al gore's home state of tennessee. democrats have not come close in the state of west virginia. a place where mitt romney and his allies argued the president has a war on coal and it's important to note that sometimes things that have been in one party for a long time disappear in a flash. >> the way coal stocks traded as the market tried to make a predictor of what's going to happen today. >> amman jaber joins us. good evening. >> interesting you're talking about west virginia because even as mitt romney's carrying west virginia on the presidential level, nbc news now has a projection in the senate race in west virginia joe manchin the democrat in west virginia is

projected to win in that state. even at the national level democrats are having trouble in west virginia, at the senate level joe manchin the democrat has found a way to win in that state. this is a rematch against the same opponent that manchin faced in 2010 to win special election to replace long-time senator in west virginia, so fascinating rematch here and democrats picking up a projected winner here. also in ohio, we've got some interesting news there. in the senate race, too close to call in the race between sherrod brown and republican state treasurer josh mandel. too close to call in ohio, guys. >> we'll come back to you in a little bit. talkings west virginia, john, that robert byrd speak really brings us back to a different time. >> and makes the point about how far that state has flipped. joe manchin won that seat in 2010 with a television ad that showed him shooting a bullet through a piece of legislation that president obama had sponsored. it shows how unpopular the president was in that state.

>> want to talk about ohio tonight where many believe this election could be won or lost. scott cohen is live on the ground in columbus. good evening. >> good evening, carl. as the world watches ohio, ohio is watching ohio. ohio state university and election night is an event. we have several hundred students from all political persuasions that are watching here. remember, no republican has won the white house without winning ohio. that's not to say that governor romney can't do it, but it makes it a lot harder if he does not win. that explains why the governor was in ohio twice in the last 24 hours. in cleveland today, here in columbus yesterday. it also explains why president obama was here in one of his last stops on his last campaign in columbus last night. vice president biden here today as well. we are awaiting momentarily a briefing by the ohio secretary of state as the polls are about to close. we will be bringing that to you if there's anything notable

there. has this gotten voters' attention, you bet it has. take a look at the scenes a short time ago outside this building, the ohio union, where as many as 500 students were lined up to vote as the polls were closing. and these lines have been going out the door all day long. steady turnouts. now, what we expect when the results come out is they will tally the absentee ballots first. a record 1.8 million of them and pretty much everyone across the board expects those will break for the democrats. it will be a little bit deceiving. then it comes to a game of turnout on election day and republican senator rob portman, a romney ally, feels good about that. >> everyone saying, as goes ohio, so goes the country. i feel good about today. it's a beautiful day. >> reverend jesse jackson here for the democrats. he also is feeling good about voter turnout breaking for the

democrats. >> the attempts to suppress the vote here, voter purging, has turned them to stimulation. people are determined against all odds to vote. >> and just in case, there is that voter suppression that he's talking about or voter fraud that the republicans are talking about, an army of lawyers lined up on both sides if this becomes a close race. and we're talking about if it's within 50,000 votes or so, the lawyers swoop in and we're in for a long count here in ohio. >> wow. okay. what an exciting race. >> collective shutter when you said a team of lawyers all around the table. thanks so much. >> thank you, scott. we want to report that nbc news has projected south carolina goes to mitt romney. t was too early to call a moment moment ago but now nbc news is projecting mitt romney the winner of south carolina. >> a state that mccain took in 2008, 54 to 45. john, no surprises yet, i would argue. the republican "l" that you've described on the map beginning to fill in as you saw it.

>> we have not had any state go against our expectations so far. that's in the nature of battleground states. it's going to take some hours to get those votes tabulated. our nbc news decision desk takes the exit polls and match them against early returns and cautious about how they call it. >> michele carew sa cabrera is looking at the exit polls today. >> we are getting nbc exit poll data from virginia on that state's citizens on the views of economy. gap between current economic conditions and people's feelings about which way the economy is headed. a third of virginia voters says the economy is excellent or good, way up from the 2008 election. 39% say the economy is not so good. 28% say it is poor. so that is two-thirds a sour view of the economy right now. on the other hand, more than four in ten said the economy is getting better. 43%. another 20% say it's staying about the same. this split between how people feel about the economy currently

and how people think it might be heading in the future is making a huge difference in the close race for president in virginia. people who feel badly about the economy, are voting overwhelmingly for romney. 73 to 26%. those who see the economy getting better are voting almost unanimously for president obama, 91% to 7%. one big reason why we have a close race in virginia and something to watch in other states as the night goes on. back to you guys. >> michele, thanks very much. former economic adviser jared burton, democratic analyst keith bonecoin, james from the american enterprise institute and carly fiorina are here. thanks for joining us. let me kick this off with you. your thoughts on what we know so far? >> listen, i'm very weary of what campaign folks tell me this time of year. at least yesterday, that the romney folks were very -- were very confident. they've been confident before the super storm, they were still

confident even though the president got a bit of a bump and thought they were going to win this. the obama folks feel that as well. i don't think anything has happened so far in the turnout or exit polls that would lead team romney to think that they're still not going to win today. win tonight. >> the feeling the same on the other side, keith? >> i think that the -- the campaign structure hasn't changed much since what we see. the polls show that in seven of the nine battleground states that president obama is still leading, going into today's election and virginia is interesting because the unemployment rate in virginia is only 5.9%. so it's no wonder that people that think the economy is excellent or good because it's not so bad as other parts of the country. >> carly fiorina jump in here. economic issues are ruling the day, as we see state polling closing, it's dictated by folks' feelings about their local economy. carly?

we'll get back to carly. >> never had her at a loss of words. >> that's got to be a mike problem. >> we'll get to you in a second. >> i voted in virginia early this morning and there were long lines. in fact, i would be pretty surprised if the polls closed in virginia when they were supposed to given how long the lines. if you're in line you get to vote. that's important. look, i took a lot from what michele was saying about momentum. i think momentum makes a big difference in how people think about the economy and shape their vote on the economy. even more so than levels. you can have a high unemployment rate as keith mentioned in virginia it's quite low, have a high unemployment rate but if people feel that rate is moving in the right direction, which by the way it is, nationally, and more so in some of the big key states that helps the president. >> i wonder whether you think unemployment is a legitimate ultimate deciding factor in a state? nevada is the opposite case. high unemployment rate but some argue harry reid has put enough

machinery on the ground to make a difference for the democrats. >> first, can you hear me this time? >> we can. >> great. so first i will say as a virginia resident, i think we're all going to be very happy when this election is finally over. when you're in a swing state you get ten robo calls a day and things stuffed in your mailbox every night. virginia is exceptional for a couple reasons. first, governor mcdonald has done quite an extraordinary job of lifting the economy here, done it with a set of policies that are in direct opposition to president obama has done in the past and will do in the future, that is he's lowered tax rates closed a budget deficit. but as was pointed out earlier, virginia is also a place that benefits tremendously from federal government, from the military, and from businesses that associate themselves with the defense establishment in general. i do think that if virginia goes to obama, that's a bad sign for the romney campaign, but i would also tell you that i'm in touch

as we speak with people up in boston and they're feeling very good about virginia. they continue to feel very good about the night. however, to the point of your original question, this is all about how people feel about their personal economic circumstances and i think as split as this country is, people do have is a different view of what is going to work. i think democrats are trying to convince the american people that more government spending, more stimulus, larger government, higher taxes for some, is going to work to create jobs and some people buy that. i personally don't. i think the empirical evidence suggests otherwise, including across many of these battleground states with republican governors who have lowered taxes and spurred economic growth. >> so many ways that is exactly what tonight is all about. we'll come back to carly and you gentlemen more in the coming moments. we'll head live to omaha headquarters and romney headquarters for the mood there. >> and then at the top of the hour, polls are closing in 16

states and washington, d.c., including florida, pennsylvania, new hampshire, three states that could go either way and they are vital to both the president and mitt romney. stay with us. all that coming up. [ abdul-rashid ] i've been working since i was about 16. you know, one job or the other. the moment i could access the retirement plan,

i just became firm about it -- "i'm done. i'm out of here." you know, it's like it just hits you fast. you know, you start thinking about what's really important here. ♪ ♪ or that printing in color had to cost a fortune. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us. introducing the business smart inkjet all-in-one series from brother. easy to use, it's the ultimate combination of speed, small size, and low-cost printing. [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate

and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers. a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again.

welcome back. the two lines at the bottom of the screen will be rolling all

night long on the top you will have the market data that you can only get from cnbc. on the bottom line, we're using social media to hear your thoughts as well. the cnbc twicker #cnbc 2012 an watch your comments roll on the bottom line. >> in the meantime want to get the early mood from the obama camp. phil lebeau in mccormick place in chicago. good evening. >> good evening. we're still about 45 minutes from them opening the doors for 10,000 obama supporters who will be coming in here to the mccormick place. take an overhead view and get some perspective this is an intimate atmosphere than we saw for president obama four years ago when he was outdoors. 10,000 obama volunteers staff members have been invited here. invitation only. the only people here primarily journalists. compare this with four years ago. grant park, it was a very warm night, you had about 240,000 people who were there. and it was a completely

different vibe in this city. people knew that obama was probably going to win. not the case tonight. speaking of where the president is tonight. at his house on the south side of chicago. voted a couple weeks ago. today he made about 16 satellite interviews with different tv stations around the country, played a pick-up basketball game and vice president biden voted this morning in delaware, then flew here to chicago. tonight he is with president obama and the first lady watching the election returns. at some point it will be interesting to see when he comes here to mccormick place. back to you. >> that pick-up basketball game an old tradition for the president on election day. >> to the romney camp, hampton pearson is live in boston tonight. hampton? >> carl, it's not just the music that has the romney headquarters here in boston rockin' right now, they like the red on the map that they've seen thus far of those four states if you will in the romney column any time projection goes their way, there's applause that goes up here in the headquarters room.

meanwhile, mitt romney has only been back in boston for about an hour and a half after those last-minute campaign stops in ohio and pennsylvania. he's next door at a hotel that's adjacent to this massive convention center monitoring the returns, getting reports from around the country. elsewhere across town in boston, at the boston gardens, there's a romney war room still in operation, making calls to presumably places where the polls have not closed. i'm sure a lot of phone calls are being made to colorado and nevada to get that last-minute vote out there. but so far, anyway, mood is upbeat for very obvious reasons. the early returns, the map all red for romney with the exception of vermont thus far. back to you. >> hampton pearson in boston for us tonight. thank you so much. >> maria, 7:30, got ohio closing, but in about 10 minutes time we have florida closed, we'll have pennsylvania closed, virginia still closed and too

early to call. all the big battlegrounds on the eastern seaboard are going to be close. >> very close. >> when the waiting game begins. >> very exciting to watch as we wait for the results in ohio and florida. two states that if mitt romney were to be victorious here, he really needs those states. >> a lot of people agree. if n if florida does not fall to romney it might be an earlier night than we think. >> three states closing at the top of the hour, florida, pennsylvania and new hampshire. we'll be right back. ♪

[ male announcer ] a european-inspired suspension, but not from germany. ♪ a powerful, fuel-efficient engine, but it's not from japan. ♪ it's a car like no other... inspired by a place like no other. introducing the all-new 2013 chevrolet malibu, our greatest malibu ever. ♪ i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there.

welcome back. americans living abroad are watching today. kelly evans is live at the u.s. embassy in london where it is almost 1:00 in the morning but no one is going to sleep quite yet. good morning, kelly. >> carl, good morning. if anything, the party here is just getting going. as you said i'm at the u.s. embassy in london. mind me one of the many rooms 12 to 1300 guests are expected in and out. they have tons of screens to watch the results come in and there are sponsors galore, mcdonald's, starbucks, jack daniels, goodman sacks. we are in the heart of mayfair a heavily financial as well as political crowd and the ambassador louis susman, while an obama employee, a pretty bipartisan group here as well. republicans and democrats abroad have their booths set up,

handing out little favors and they're taking pictures with their mitt romney and barack obama cutouts. it's also not just americans, though, as i -- as the ambassador mentioned when i spoke with him a few moments ago, it's also pretty international crowd. >> i've seen people from russia, from israel, all over. this is, if i may say, so the hottest ticket in town. this party is going to continue until 4:00 in the morning and i hope the votes are in earlier than that so i can get to bed. >> i hope so too, guys. he also reiterated the uk/u.s. special relationship as as special as ever. plenty more on that in the days to come. they're about to start serving the oreo mcflurry, i have to go. >> thanks so much. kelly in london. we want to report that mitt romney has taken georgia. nbc news projecting mitt romney the winner in georgia. coming up next, a number of polls about to close at the top of the hour. >> we're back with more of "your

money, your vote" on this election night 2012. from local communities to local businesses.

the potential of yelp unlocked. nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential. to a currency market for everyone. the potential of fxcm unlocked. nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential. [ male announcer ] the way it moves. the way it cleans. everything about the oral-b power brush is simply revolutionary. oral-b power brushes oscillate, rotate and even pulsate to gently loosen and break up that sticky plaque with more brush movements than manual brushes and even up to 50% more than leading sonic technology brushes for a superior clean. oral-b power brushes. go to oralb.com for the latest offers. oral-b power brushes. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common.

they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. ♪ [ female announcer ] today is not just about who lives in the white house,

it's about who lives in the yellow house, the brick, the green, and the apartment house, too. today we not only honor the oval office, but we honor the cubicle, the open-air office and the home office as well. ♪ today is not just about who rides in air force one, it's about who rides in the 4 door sedan, the 2 door hatchback and the v8 muscle car. ♪ because today it's about all of us. and no matter who you are, or where you live, you're the commander-in-chief of your own life. and that's something that will never change. ♪